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From Larry Clark, the director of KIDS, BULLY is based on a true story of a group of kids in Hollywood, Florida, who killed their friend. But don’t confuse this film with those “based on true events” TV movies that are churned out after every tabloid tragedy. This is an intricate look at how violence leads to violence, and shows the truth behind the statement “idle hands are the devil’s playthings.”

Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro, GHOST WORLD) and Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl, TERMINATOR 3) have been friends since they were little kids. Ever since then, Bobby has been physically and mentally abusing Marty. The film subtly alludes to Bobby’s jealousy of Marty’s good looks and his own buried homosexuality. Marty gets into a relationship with Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner, JOE THE KING), who Bobby eventually rapes. Later on, Bobby rapes Lisa’s friend Ali (Bijou Phillips, ALMOST FAMOUS). After this Rachel formulates a plan to murder Bobby. Rounding out the group is Ali’s druggie boyfriend Donny (Michael Pitt, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH), Ali’s rehab runaway friend Heather (Kelli Garner, LOVE LIZA), Rachel’s overweight cousin Derek (Daniel Franzese, PARTY MONSTER) and the wanna-be hitman Derek (Leo Fitzpatrick, STORYTELLING).

All of these teens are idle middle class kids who leach off their parents, have sex and get wasted on booze and drugs. The relationships between all the characters are amazing. Each one of them has their own motivations. It’s intriguing how the murder plot starts out as bullshitting between friends and escalates into the killing before anyone realizes how far it has really gone. The story truthfully builds to the crime and then shows use how each character reacts to the crime. Some are scared and some brag (because they’re scared). This film is the most poignant example of group dynamics leading to awful things. Each character is fully realized. It takes a while for the story to build to the murder, but the aftermath is the best pay-off. The parents are either not present or just clueless to what is really going on.

Stahl is remarkable as the brutal rich kid who hides his insecurities, developed by his demanding father, by thrusting fear on those who question him or make him feel weak. Renfro has never been better as Kent’s longtime whipping post. His hunched shoulders bare the weight of years of torment. Miner plays Lisa as a cold, calculating individual who seems to get a rush out of how far she can push Marty to prove how much he “loves” her. Pitt is also wonderful as a tag-along who is too stoned to realize the severity of his actions. Franzese paints a fascinating character who gets in over his head mainly due to his desire to fit in with the cool kids.

In this film, Clark deals with the tragedy of idle youth like he did in KIDS, but with a more dramatic story and more rounded characters. The cinematography has a hand held feel, but doesn’t rely on the “documentary” look for its complete visual style. The film is raw and has lots of nudity, but it doesn’t get in the way. This film is a masterpiece that is unequaled — one of the best films of 2001.